Why Did God Love Jacob but HATE ESAU?
Published: 6th July 2025
Paul quoted God from the Hebraic Scriptures, saying: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Romans 9:13). This raises several theological questions, including: Why did the LORD hate Esau? Was Esau in conflict with God? Isn’t God love, according to 1 John 4:16?
For answers, let’s start with the source of Paul’s quote:
1A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. a
Israel Doubts God’s Love
2“I have loved you,” says the Lord.
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
Malachi 1:1-3
Esau and Jacob were twin sons of Isaac and grandsons of Abraham, our father of faith (Galatians 3:6-9). Only one of them could provide the family line through which the Messiah would come. God chose Jacob and thus made a covenant with him for that special role and not Esau. Thus ‘hatred’ for Jacob could be viewed as hyperbole in contrast God’s loyal love for Jacob, who was chosen to be a key instrument in God’s plan for humanity’s redemption.
Hyperbole is exaggeration for effect. To illustrate, consider Christ’s radical statement:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”
Since the Lord clearly instructed us elsewhere to love others, including our parents (Mark 12:30-31; Matthew 15:1-4), we know he’s employing hyperbole here. In other words, our love for God is to be so great that our love for parents, spouses, children and siblings should seem like hatred by comparison.
Here’s another way of looking at it: Since Jacob played an important role in the redemption of humanity and Esau didn’t, you could say that God loved making redemption available for fallen humanity and hated the idea of humanity remaining in a fallen state.
For additional insights, consider how the writer of Hebrews describes Esau:
16See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
Hebrews 12:16-17
Esau gave up his birthright for a single meal (Genesis 25:27-34) and this reveals something about his character: He put immediate gratification above long-term interests. Thus the writer of Hebrews describes him as “godless,” which is the Greek word bebélos (beh’-bay-los), meaning “worldly, profane, a godless person.” In other words, Esau was Earth-focused and therefore generally disinterested in the things of God & eternity. You could say he was interested only in the here-and-now. Despite his flaws, Jacob was the opposite, which can be observed in his amazing encounter with the LORD in Genesis 32:22-32.
Thus God favored Jacob above Esau. Nevertheless, Esau prospered greatly in the two decades after Jacob fled from his brother’s wrath (Genesis 27:41) and the LORD answered Jacob’s prayers, softening Esau’s heart (Genesis 33:1-11).
Related Topics:
GODLINESS and RELIGION — What’s the Diff?
HEBREWS / ISRAELITES / JEWS — Why Did God Choose Them?
REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation